Artist Statement
My work is about where I live and where I have been. I work from memories of what I see and have seen. I focus my thoughts on the feeling of being in the place I will paint or create. I capture the mood and atmosphere about the place and reproduce that in my art.
Just as the earth is built in layers, I build layers to create environments and connect viewers to our Mother Earth. Using acrylic and oil washes, soaking method, pencil frottage, saved and found objects I build a substrate
for landscapes. I use these methods intentional, but there is an element of chance as to what they will look like after they are applied, dried or collaged together. This means that I must build the rest of the landscape I
envision from something I can not completely control. This is similar to my real life where I plan and then adjust
for the unpredictable.
As a naturalist I am concerned with humans interaction in the world. I see us abusing mother earth by capitalizing on natural resource to produce goods and leaving filthy bi-products in the wake. I find connections between people and nature. Water is one of these connections as we and our earth both depend on it to sustain life. I use trees in my work as a metaphor to show this relationship. Grains of wood are fingerprints, roots are planted on the earth as our feet are planted. Branches, like arms, reach up to the sky.
As a massage therapist I worked through layers of soft tissue to find a persons source of pain. As a painter I build layers to create environments and connect viewers to our Mother Earth. I am also a shiatsu practitioner and have studied the five element theory consisting of water, wood, fire, earth and metal. These are the same elements as the earth. The earth and humans also consist of 80% water. I plan on integrating these connections into my work as well.
In New York I have access to the Brooklyn and Bronx botanical gardens and the new Cornell facility that recently opened. My plane for the summer, while I am here taking classes is to learn about these resources and find other people and places with interest in bringing humans closer to nature and protecting our environment.
My work is about where I live and where I have been. I work from memories of what I see and have seen. I focus my thoughts on the feeling of being in the place I will paint or create. I capture the mood and atmosphere about the place and reproduce that in my art.
Just as the earth is built in layers, I build layers to create environments and connect viewers to our Mother Earth. Using acrylic and oil washes, soaking method, pencil frottage, saved and found objects I build a substrate
for landscapes. I use these methods intentional, but there is an element of chance as to what they will look like after they are applied, dried or collaged together. This means that I must build the rest of the landscape I
envision from something I can not completely control. This is similar to my real life where I plan and then adjust
for the unpredictable.
As a naturalist I am concerned with humans interaction in the world. I see us abusing mother earth by capitalizing on natural resource to produce goods and leaving filthy bi-products in the wake. I find connections between people and nature. Water is one of these connections as we and our earth both depend on it to sustain life. I use trees in my work as a metaphor to show this relationship. Grains of wood are fingerprints, roots are planted on the earth as our feet are planted. Branches, like arms, reach up to the sky.
As a massage therapist I worked through layers of soft tissue to find a persons source of pain. As a painter I build layers to create environments and connect viewers to our Mother Earth. I am also a shiatsu practitioner and have studied the five element theory consisting of water, wood, fire, earth and metal. These are the same elements as the earth. The earth and humans also consist of 80% water. I plan on integrating these connections into my work as well.
In New York I have access to the Brooklyn and Bronx botanical gardens and the new Cornell facility that recently opened. My plane for the summer, while I am here taking classes is to learn about these resources and find other people and places with interest in bringing humans closer to nature and protecting our environment.
CV's
Camille Colonnese McNally
b. Fulton New York
Phone: 315-247-7874
Website: camillemcnally.com
Email: camillecolonnese@gmail.com
Education
M.F.A. in progress, Pratt Institute
Brooklyn, NY
2017 B.A. Wells Collage
Aurora, NY
2015 A.S. Cayuga Community Collage
Auburn NY
Solo Exhibitions
2017 The Depth of Trees: Long Library, Aurora NY
Group Exhibitions
2017 Building Relationships: Camille McNally, Jennifer VanWormer, Kim Brighon Jr
The String Gallery, String Gallery, Aurora NY
2016 NY Mixed Media: Camille McNally, Joyglenn Lionel, Amanda Bottorff
The String Gallery, Aurora, NY
Collections
The Jan and Frank Graham Collection NY
The Witty Collection NY
The Walnut Grove Collection, NY
Bibliography
2017 Keep It Quite,Olive Trees
2017 Eyeballs On My Fingertips, The Chronicle
2016 Halloween, The Chronicle